SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Evolution Advocate Turns to Climate
from Nature News
Students walking out of classrooms when global warming is mentioned; teachers pressured to change lesson plans to avoid the subject or portray it as speculative rather than a matter of scientific consensus. For Eugenie Scott, the stories and anecdotes fit a familiar pattern. Scott is executive director of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) an organization based in Oakland, California, with a reputation for doggedly defending the teaching of evolution in US classrooms.
But a growing impression that climate science is facing a similar struggle, together with entreaties from educators and textbook authors, has helped to convince her that the NCSE should expand its mandate to include the politically charged issue of global warming.
"I think we can make an important contribution," says Scott. "If teachers understand that there is a place that they can go to for help, we can use some of the expertise that we've gained over the years dealing with evolution to apply to this related problem."
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